Though it was released six years prior to Overgrown Path, Chris Cohen has retrospectively called Calamity “essentially his first solo record”, featuring minor contributions from consummate collaborator Nedelle Torrisi. Both a mid-aughts indie relic and another of Cohen’s signature timeless touch, it shouldn’t be difficult for fans of his excellent solo albums to dive into the pool headfirst.
Author: Justin Gage
Little Wings :: High On The Glade
If Bob Dylan is the great American artist—the single solitary figure whose body of work speaks to the entirety of the American experience, from sea to shining sea—then Kyle Field is the great Californian artist. The music Field makes as Little Wings encompasses the Golden State from tip to tail, the aural equivalent of a days-long crawl along the 101, from Crescent City to Tijuana. High On The Glade, Field’s latest, suggests a certain shade of Malibu, particularly its northern end, far from oceanfront estates and Chautauqua Boulevard traffic jams. Older, wilder, weirder; less Nobu, more Neptune’s Net.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Sam Moss
In the midst of a northeast tour Sam Moss stopped in to Pale Moon Services in Cambridge, NY for an afternoon where he spent some time meeting, working with, and being guided by studio proprietor Jared Samuel and assistant engineer Victor Pacek. The day culminated in the following four covers, including Townes Van Zandt’s anthropomorphizing a window, 1979 Leonard Cohen, a Willie Nelson chestnut, and Jenn Wasner’s Flock of Dimes.
Emergency Group at the Milwaukee Psych Fest
The overwhelming theme of the Milwaukee Psych Fest earlier this month was the disappearing line between psychedelic rock and electric jazz. Right at the point intersection sat the ferocious Emergency Group, who meld diamond-cutter funk grooves, jazzy keyboard cascades and electric guitar squall. Thanks to a pristine soundboard from Milwaukee Taper, you can now hear the Brooklyn quartet rip apart the upper midwest.
The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)
Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.
34.1090° N, 118.2334° W
Shabason, Krgovich, Sage :: Shabason, Krgovich, Sage
Since 2019, Nicholas Krgovich and Joseph Shabason have settled into a groove of serenity. As its title implies, the third entry in pair’s loose LP trilogy introduces the mystical touches of sound artist Matthew Sage, who recently released the gorgeous cozy eco-ambient album, Paradise Crick, with RVNG Intl.
King Hannah :: Big Swimmer
King Hannah juxtaposes the cool, poised narratives of singer Hannah Merrick with the guitar storms of her partner Craig Whittle, a volatile mix that can sound like Dry Cleaning in one track, PJ Harvey the next. The duo, out of Liverpool, have one previous album, an EP and a slew of singles to their credit before Big Swimmer, but this album ups the stakes considerably.
Arab Strap :: I’m Totally Fine With It Don’t Give A Fuck Anymore
It’s no accident that Arab Strap’s eighth full album has a couple of emojis in the title. A disgruntled, disgusted masterwork, I’m Totally Fine With It lives in the belly of the digital beast, spewing blasted poetry at the dits and dots that move through its digestive tract.
Ezra Feinberg :: Soft Power
After a trio of excellent early aughts albums with his San Francisco post-prog outfit Citay, Ezra Feinberg stepped away from music to pursue a career as a psychoanalyst. In 2018, he returned to music with his first solo album, beginning an outstanding run of releases that continues to this day with the aptly titled Soft Power. Soft Power mixes post-rock, minimalism and new age, while somehow remaining tangibly human and emotionally grounded.
Paul Spring :: River Flows Two Ways
Though Paul Spring’s music has always revolved around a nucleus of classical nylon string guitar and a healthy dose of Irish flute, River Flows Two Ways is a truly stripped down acoustic affair, reworking of fourteen tracks culled from his eclectic previous releases. Coinciding with a canoe tour down the Hudson River, the tireless session guitarist (and collaborator of artists like Mary Lattimore) spins new arrangements in both a fresh new album and catalogue introduction of sorts.
Bob Dylan’s 83rd Birthday :: Celebrating The Bootleg Series
Even if Fragments, the latest Bootleg Series release from 2023, is the end of the line, fans have been given hours upon hours of “pretty good stuff” that we’ll all be sifting through for decades to come. To celebrate this bounty — as well as Dylan’s 83rd birthday this week — dig into a very small selection of Bootleg Series highlights, stretching from The Times They Are A-Changin’ to Time Out Of Mind. There’s beauty in every grain of sand.
Videodrome :: Possibly In Michigan (1983)
Possibly in Michigan has been called a pioneering work of lo-fi aestheticism, an advertisement for Satanism, and a “cursed film.” But is it really a surreal revenge fantasy based on the director’s relationship with the infamous Unicorn Killer?
The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)
Comme il faut. Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.
34.1090° N, 118.2334° W
George Faith :: To Be A Lover
A heady soul-reggae brew that only Lee “Scratch” Perry could concoct, George Faith’s To Be A Lover is a sweet and sultry dose of vintage R&B á la Upsetter. Released in 1977, it’s an undersung classic from the heyday of the Black Ark studio—eight cuts combining the velvet nonchalance of Faith’s voice with a group of reggae heavyweights working out tunes from the Stax, Motown, and Muscle Shoals songbooks.
Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: May 2024
Freeform transmissions from Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard on dublab, airing every third Sunday of the month. This month features Chad DePasquale’s New Happy Gathering with a mix of dream-pop, industrial discord, and chamber music, and Tyler Wilcox’s Doom & Gloom From The Tomb with an early birthday tribute to Bob Dylan and his incredible Bootleg Series. Sunday, 4-6pm PT.